Beauty secrets women keep from men

Thirty-five percent would hate their other half to ever see their underarm hair and 23 percent hate their stubbly legs being on view.

London - Women’s beauty regimes are often closely guarded secrets... rituals that many of us rely on to help us face the day and definitely don’t want to share with our other halves.

But the good, bad and ugly parts of our beauty regimes have been revealed in a new survey.

Don’t worry though, girls, the findings also confirm that most men think our beauty is all natural.

The research found that while 56 percent of women agree that looking natural takes a lot of effort, with only 30 percent of women considering themselves to be naturally beautiful, 90 percent of men think beauty comes naturally to women.

It is little wonder then that we keep the secrets of our groomed and glowing bodies hidden from others.

A quarter of women polled by home colour hair brand Nice’n Easy confess to having at least one beauty secret and 23 percent admit nobody, least of all their partner, really knows the extent of their beautifying.

Upper lip hair tops the list of hush-hush horrors: more than half of women surveyed have at least one beauty “no-no” they don’t like their partner to see and a moustache is the worst.

Thirty-five percent would hate their other half to ever see their underarm hair and 23 percent hate their stubbly legs being on view.

But keeping the bathroom door firmly closed is not necessarily a bad thing, with 87 percent of the men questioned admitting they don’t mind if their partner keeps some beauty rituals hidden.

This is supported by women, with 70 percent who keep a beauty secret from their partner believing it is key to a good relationship.

Psychologist and psychotherapist Rachel Shattock Dawson explains why: “In an age when very little remains taboo, many women still prefer to keep some things private, believing that there’s a place for a little mystery and mystique, even within their closest relationships.”

This is not to say women don’t talk about their beauty regimes; 51 percent share their favourite tips with girlfriends and 27 percent with their daughter.

A quarter of us gather ideas and tricks from magazines, with our friends coming a close second.

Only five percent of women consult their partner on beauty knowledge.

The average woman will spend more than a year of her lifetime making herself look beautiful.

Hectic lifestyles see us spending just 18 minutes beautifying on a typical day, but this rises to an hour for weddings, birthdays or anniversaries. And women admit to devoting 40 minutes of prep-time for a night out with girlfriends – more than we spend getting ready for a date with our partner.

Women find their habits mentally transformative, with 62 percent saying their beauty regime makes them feel like a new person and 73 percent agreeing they feel more confident once it is completed.